Category: Swatch

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Comparison Post: OPI My Dog Sled is A Hybrid vs. ACO by Ardene Jungle Green.

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The other day, I picked up My Dog Sled is A Hybrid by OPI (which you may have noticed in my chevron moon post the other day.) When I used it, I couldn’t help but think it looked an awful lot like an ACO by Ardene polish recently released — Jungle Green. So obviously I had to compare the two to see just how close they are and if maybe I found a less expensive dupe for MDSAH.

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I have Jungle Green on my pointer finger and pinkie, and My Dog Sled is A Hybrid on my middle finger, ring finger and my thumb. As you can see–definitely not dupes. Jungle Green is definitely brighter and a little more Neon than MDSAH. Comparing the two, I’d called MDSAH more of a Jade even, especially when side by side of Jungle Green. Both colours are absolutely gorgeous, but they had no twins. Not at all.

As far as application–MDSAH is actually a dream to apply. It takes two coats, but they go on like butter, with no streaks or bald spots to be seen! I wish I could say the same for Jungle Green–it was not a dream to apply. It was also two coats, but when I went to apply the second coat the first coat seemed to drag, which was not fun considering the top had already dried some. So strange. Top coat balanced everything out, but… yeah. I’ve never had that happen to me before.

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So what do you think of these two polishes? While Jungle Green is not a dupe for My Dog Sled is A Hybrid, it is a pretty polish–application issues aside. For my Canadian girls, you can pick up Jungle Green at your local Ardene’s location or online for $3.50 or as part of a promotion (usually 3/10). I picked up my bottle of My Dog Sled is A Hybrid as part of the OPI Little Northies Collection at my local Chatters.

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SWATCH POST: Crazy Fancy Love by Essence Cosmetics!

Sorry about my absence last week. The boyfriend and I moved and my computer charger got mixed up in the chaos so I’ve been without my trusty MAC ever since. Well things are finally getting back to normal, and I’m ready to get back into the swing of blogging.

Today I have some swatches of a gorgeous polish that I just recently picked up: Essence Color and Go 164 Crazy Fancy Love.   IMG_1325

You may have noticed there are two things I absolutely love when it comes to polishes: gold, and multi-chromes. Crazy Fancy Love is the best of both worlds. I picked it up a Shoppers Drug Mart that carries a more extensive collection of Essence polishes for the awesome price of $1.99. I was drawn first to the gorgeous bronze-y gold colour, but quickly fell in love with the multi-chrome effect. In the right light, it pulls a variety of colours including pinks and greens. They’re subtle, but they’re there. The formula was awesome–I’ve never had issues with my Essence polishes and this one is no different. The polish applied in two easy, thin coats and if you applied it a little thicker you could definitely get away with just one!

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As you can see from my shots (which I took in my brand new light box I built over the weekend) you can really see the shift in colour in the bottle. On the nail, I find the pinks come out depending on how you shift your hand. Never less, I’m loving Crazy Fancy Love. This is a great polish for Fall, and even into the quickly approaching holiday season. I can see this colour pairing really well with not just some deep reds, but blue and green polishes as well. It’s a soft gorgeous polish, and I’m totally in love with everything about it.

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So what do you think of the Essence Color and Go polishes? I love their whole range. Their special edition polishes are always must haves for me, but the permanent collection is so full of so many amazing polishes that I have quite a few added to my stash.

Also I don’t know if you may have noticed but I changed my nail shape! I was feel a crazy change, and I’ve been obsessed with almond shape nails lately. Right now I’m rocking some serious round nubs, but as they grow I plan on shaping them more almond. This is actually the FIRST time I’ve changed my nail shape since I was about 12 and started filing my nails, so it’s taking some getting used to but I actually LOVE how they look! =)

 

Have a great day lovelies!

 

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China Glaze “Choo-Choo Choose You” and a comparison.

 

 

Today I have one of the polishes from China Glaze’s All Aboard collection, which they’ve released for fall. When I first saw swatches of all the polishes, I fell absolutely in love with all the gorgeous colors, so I knew that I needed to check these out. In stores, when looking at the bottles, my eyes were immediately drawn to the polish below.

 

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China Glaze Choo-Choo Choose You in almost indescribable. But according to the press release China Glaze released for the collection, it is described as purple grey smokey shimmer. When I was checking out the polishes at my local Chatters, I wasn’t sure which one to get but my eyes kept coming back to this one. The polish was just so striking and gorgeous! And I had to have it.

 

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Choo-Choo Choose You is definitely a one of a kind polish when it comes to my collection. The different flashes of color remind me of almost an oil slick on my nails (in a good way). I couldn’t really think of any other polish in my stash as beautiful as this polish, or similar. So naturally I had to go looking. =)

The only other polish I have in my stash similar to Choo-Choo Choose You is Essie For the Twill of It. Naturally, I had to swatch the two side by side to see how similar they were, and you can see below they’re not as similar as I originally thought. On my pointer and ring finger I have For the Twill of It, and on my middle and pinky I have Choo-Choo Choose You. For the Twill of It pulls much more blue/grey while you can really see the purple of Choo-Choo Chose You while the two are side by side. As well, you can seriously see the brush strokes in For the Twill of It which is in part to my own application, but still… Choo-Choo Choose You does not have the same issue. Actually, the application was absolute perfection.

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Of the two, I definitely think I prefer Choo-Choo Choose You, but that could be because I’m a sucker for purple. And the polish itself is just so different from anything else in my stash. It makes me understand why it’s been a popular choice recently. It is an amazing color for fall and I am so, so glad I choo-choo chose it. (haha sorry).

 

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SWATCH POST — Mirage by ACO by Ardene

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Today, I’m sharing with you a gorgeous polish I’m absolutely in love with. This is ACO by Ardene’s Mirage which is an absolutely stunning multi-crome polish which–depending on the light–flashes anywhere from purple, to gold, to green, to blue, to pink. You’ll remember before I mentioned that Ardene has been stepping up their nail polish game, and Mirage is a perfect example of that. For my swatches, I applied the polish over black undies, as it brings out the multi-crome aspect of the polish best. (I also applied Nutra-nail Quick Dry Top Coat for extra shine.)

 

 

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I really, really tried my best to try and capture all the different flashes of color this polish has to offer. It was not easy. I did my best, and the different colors definitely come through well. Even still, I kept looking at my nails all day, moving them around and staring in awe of them.

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See the flashes of gold and green? So, so, so pretty.

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Mirage is from ACO by Ardene’s fall 2013 collection of nail polish, although depending on the store you may still be able to find old bottles (mine doesn’t have any, but we do have other fall 2013 polishes remaining). ACO by Ardene polishes retail for $3.50 on their own, but can usually be combined in some kind of promotion that will save you a little bit overall. I think my next polish I’ll be picking up from work will be Mirage’s multi-crome sister, named Twilight Zone, so keep an eye out for that beauty coming up soon. =)

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Swatch Post: Layla Thermo Effect Polish N. 4

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Today’s post is a polish I am so excited about. As I’ve mentioned before, I absolutely LOVE thermal effect polishes, ever since my days working at Claire’s when they released their Mood Changing Polishes. So when I saw a post about the new Layla Thermo Effect Nail polishes by Sparkled Beauty (who is a local Halifax beauty blogger) I knew I had to track down these polishes at Lawtons. Two stores later, I found the display of these beauties. Sadly, there were only a couple colors left. =( I went with No. 4 which is described as a Dark to Light pink.

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When cold, the polish is a dark pink (almost light plum) color. It’s not a creme polish,  but rather scattered with an almost frosty shimmer. I was nervous at first when I saw this, as I know sometimes frosty polishes can leave brush strokes like crazy, but this one was pretty good at leveling out. I’m really digging the color of this polish while cool.

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The polish mid-change (pointer and middle finger) and cold (ring and pinky finger). A lot of the time my nails would resemble my pointer and middle fingers here. Lighter pink down towards the cuticle, to darker purple towards the end of the nail. It’s like having a gradient on your nails, without any of the work!

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And finally, the polish while hot (pointer and middle fingers). The change between the warm and cold is awesome! You can really see a difference between the two, which I like. The day I wore this polish it was raining, so every time I went outside and my nails were warm, I would have these cool drops of purple on my nails from where the cold rain had hit them. I like how easily this polish can change from temperature. (I wish I had gotten pictures!)

The application of this polish wasn’t too bad. The polish is sheer, but thick at the same time–it was actually kind of strange. It took three coats to reach full opacity, and took a bit of time to dry (even with Seche Vite as my top coat.) When dry though, it lasted well. I wore these through a full, busy, day of work and ended up with very minimal tip wear.

I’m quite impressed with Layla’s Thermal Effect Polish, and I’m thinking I will have to go back to Lawton’s and pick up some more colors (depending on what is left).